Difference between revisions of "The Dragon Book"
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== Vici - Naomi Novik == | == Vici - Naomi Novik == | ||
| − | ''See "Vici" page for detailed synopsis'' | + | ''See "[[Vici]]" page for detailed synopsis'' |
| + | [[Marcus Antonius]], a young Roman, is found to be guilty of unpaid debts reaching 250 talents, as well as the murder of another man. However, his family plead mercy for him, meaning that instead of being executed, he will be sent to slay a dragon that has been plaguing Northern Italy. If he succeeds in killing it; an unlikely feat, he will be cleared of all charges. | ||
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| + | Accompanied by several guards to make sure he doesn't flee, Anthony is led to the ravine that is the dragon's lair, armed with a spear and shield, and forced into its depths. Reaching the bottom, and the dragon, Anthony prepares to face his fate, and abandons his shield; inadvertantly distracting the dragon and allowing Anthony to see that it is in fact badly injured. Seeing his chance, Anthony attacks the dragon's wound with his spear, and it quickly perishes. Antony triumphantly returns to the surface, and recruits the guards in helping him gather the dragon's hoard; now his. One item that is recovered in the cave is a large dragon egg. | ||
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| + | Anthony refuses to have the egg destroyed, seeing it as a sellable item, and returns home to indulge in parties made more extravagant by the dragon's treasure. One night, Anthony awakens to discover the dragon egg has hatched, and the hatchling can speak Latin. Anthony names the hatchling [[Vincitatus]] before realising the dragon is female, and over the next few weeks, Anthony takes pleasure in knowing that everybody now fears him for harnessing this creature. | ||
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| + | Eventually, Anthony recieves word that he will not be permitted to keep Vincitatus in the city, and that he is to be sent to join the fighting in Gaul. When the soldiers who arrive to escort him and Vincitatus suggest killing her instead, Vincitatus rescues Anthony and takes flight, heading for Gaul, stopping several times to raid farms along the way. | ||
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| + | Vincitatus and Anthony soon reach Gaul, where a battle is already raging. Vincitatus dives into the Gaulish ranks; annihilating many. However, as she leaps into the air to resume flight, Anthony falls off her back, and is forced to fight for his life until Vincitatus realises he is missing, and returns to rescue him. | ||
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| + | After the battle, Anthony is approached by the leader of the Roman Army; [[Caius Julius Caesar]], who tells Anthony of his plan to send him and Vincitatus into battles in the future, but with archers on her back. | ||
== Bob Choi's Last Job - Johnathan Stroud == | == Bob Choi's Last Job - Johnathan Stroud == | ||
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== A Stark And Wormy Knight - Tad Williams == | == A Stark And Wormy Knight - Tad Williams == | ||
| − | After her son Alexandrax is unable to sleep, a dragon mother tells | + | After her son Alexandrax is unable to sleep, a dragon mother tells her son a tale of his great-grandfather, also named Alexandrax, who was alive when knights existed, and were a threat to dragonkind. |
In the story, Alexandrax, normally a sensible dragon who normally avoids eating humans who could prompt the summoning of a knight, one day becomes curious as to why royalty are considered more valuable than other humans, and abducts a princess from a castle rooftop to find out why. However, she struggles to escape him, causing him to drop her to her death. He takes the body of the dead princess back to his cave. | In the story, Alexandrax, normally a sensible dragon who normally avoids eating humans who could prompt the summoning of a knight, one day becomes curious as to why royalty are considered more valuable than other humans, and abducts a princess from a castle rooftop to find out why. However, she struggles to escape him, causing him to drop her to her death. He takes the body of the dead princess back to his cave. | ||
Latest revision as of 10:37, 16 May 2011
The Dragon Book is a compilation of short stories that was released in 2009, each involving a Dragon to some extent. It was edited by Jack Dann and Gardener Dozois.
It should be noted that out of all of these stories, only one; Vici, was written by Naomi Novik, and takes place in the Temeraire universe. The other stories are listed here for context purposes only.
Contents
- 1 Dragon's Deep - Cecelia Holland
- 2 Vici - Naomi Novik
- 3 Bob Choi's Last Job - Johnathan Stroud
- 4 Are You Afflicted With Dragons? - Kage Baker
- 5 The Tsar's Dragons - Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple
- 6 The Dragon Of Direfell - Liz Williams
- 7 Oakland Dragon Blues - Peter S. Beagle
- 8 Humane Killer - Diana Gabaldon & Samuel Sykes
- 9 Stop! - Garth Nix
- 10 Ungentle Fire - Sean Williams
- 11 A Stark And Wormy Knight - Tad Williams
- 12 None So Blind - Harry Turtledove
- 13 JoBoy - Diana Wynne Jones
- 14 Puz_le - Gregory Maguire
- 15 After The Third Kiss - Bruce Coville
- 16 The War That Winter Is - Tanith Lee
- 17 The Dragon's Tale - Tamora Pierce
- 18 Dragon Storm - Mary Rosenblum
- 19 The Dragaman's Bride - Andy Duncan
Dragon's Deep - Cecelia Holland[edit]
Vici - Naomi Novik[edit]
See "Vici" page for detailed synopsis Marcus Antonius, a young Roman, is found to be guilty of unpaid debts reaching 250 talents, as well as the murder of another man. However, his family plead mercy for him, meaning that instead of being executed, he will be sent to slay a dragon that has been plaguing Northern Italy. If he succeeds in killing it; an unlikely feat, he will be cleared of all charges.
Accompanied by several guards to make sure he doesn't flee, Anthony is led to the ravine that is the dragon's lair, armed with a spear and shield, and forced into its depths. Reaching the bottom, and the dragon, Anthony prepares to face his fate, and abandons his shield; inadvertantly distracting the dragon and allowing Anthony to see that it is in fact badly injured. Seeing his chance, Anthony attacks the dragon's wound with his spear, and it quickly perishes. Antony triumphantly returns to the surface, and recruits the guards in helping him gather the dragon's hoard; now his. One item that is recovered in the cave is a large dragon egg.
Anthony refuses to have the egg destroyed, seeing it as a sellable item, and returns home to indulge in parties made more extravagant by the dragon's treasure. One night, Anthony awakens to discover the dragon egg has hatched, and the hatchling can speak Latin. Anthony names the hatchling Vincitatus before realising the dragon is female, and over the next few weeks, Anthony takes pleasure in knowing that everybody now fears him for harnessing this creature.
Eventually, Anthony recieves word that he will not be permitted to keep Vincitatus in the city, and that he is to be sent to join the fighting in Gaul. When the soldiers who arrive to escort him and Vincitatus suggest killing her instead, Vincitatus rescues Anthony and takes flight, heading for Gaul, stopping several times to raid farms along the way.
Vincitatus and Anthony soon reach Gaul, where a battle is already raging. Vincitatus dives into the Gaulish ranks; annihilating many. However, as she leaps into the air to resume flight, Anthony falls off her back, and is forced to fight for his life until Vincitatus realises he is missing, and returns to rescue him.
After the battle, Anthony is approached by the leader of the Roman Army; Caius Julius Caesar, who tells Anthony of his plan to send him and Vincitatus into battles in the future, but with archers on her back.
Bob Choi's Last Job - Johnathan Stroud[edit]
Are You Afflicted With Dragons? - Kage Baker[edit]
The Tsar's Dragons - Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple[edit]
The Dragon Of Direfell - Liz Williams[edit]
Oakland Dragon Blues - Peter S. Beagle[edit]
Humane Killer - Diana Gabaldon & Samuel Sykes[edit]
Stop! - Garth Nix[edit]
Ungentle Fire - Sean Williams[edit]
A Stark And Wormy Knight - Tad Williams[edit]
After her son Alexandrax is unable to sleep, a dragon mother tells her son a tale of his great-grandfather, also named Alexandrax, who was alive when knights existed, and were a threat to dragonkind.
In the story, Alexandrax, normally a sensible dragon who normally avoids eating humans who could prompt the summoning of a knight, one day becomes curious as to why royalty are considered more valuable than other humans, and abducts a princess from a castle rooftop to find out why. However, she struggles to escape him, causing him to drop her to her death. He takes the body of the dead princess back to his cave.
The next day, Alexandrax wakes to find a knight, Sir Libogran the Undeflectable, has been dispatched to rescue the princess and kill him in the process. Alexandrax attempts to fool the knight by using the princesses' corpse as a puppet, but this fails when her head falls off. He then attempts to scare the knight away by claiming that the princess died from a disease in the cavern, but Sir Libogran is prepared to enter anyway to do the princesses' family honour. Finally, Alexandrax spins a tale that he is a magical wishing dragon, and that he will grant Sir Libogran a wish, prompted that he leave the kingdom shortly afterwards. Sir Libogran agrees, and reveals his wish by decapitating Alexandrax as he leaves the cave.
Despite this, Alexandrax is alive - really being a two headed dragon, his second head was sick, and he was hiding it under his wing - and his head grows back over time. As time goes on, Alexandrax meets his future wife, and when heading out one day to court her, he discovers the castle of Sir Libogran, and defecates down the chimney in revenge, before fleeing. Sir Libogran, assuming a bird flock to be responsible, sets traps on the roofs, before falling and skewering himself on one of them.
The mother dragon ends her story, telling her son that they no longer fear knights or humans because they are no longer believed to exist, having been replaced by the far deadlier creature "Statistics".
